Man wins lawsuit

Rudy Sookhan of Barrackpore sued the AATT on the basis that since no vehicle is allowed to enter or leave the airport’s car park arbitrarily, the authority’s security firm owes motorists a duty to ensure thieves do not steal people’s vehicles.

Sookhan of Cumuto Road, contended in a lawsuit that AATT’s policy at the Piarco Airport, aims at ensuring that motorists do not leave the car park without producing the electronically generated parking ticket. How, therefore, was someone able to drive out with his car on April 18, 2010, Sookhan’s attorney Asaf Hosein asked in a suit for claim filed in court.

The suit claimed that at about 11.30 am on the day in question, his client parked his car after being issued with a machine-generated parking ticket at the airport’s entrance. In the lawsuit, Sookhan described the airport as fenced and manned by security guards. There are also close circuit CCTV cameras on the compound.

According to the lawsuit, when Sookhan returned at about 12.55 pm to retrieve his car, it was missing. He reported the matter to a security guard who advised him to file a report at the Piarco Police Station.

Sookhan contended as a ground to his lawsuit against AATT, that despite Disclaimer notices in the car park, it was the responsibility of security guards to ensure thieves do not drive off with people’s car from the airport’s car park. He stated that the guard at the exit booth, allowed his car to leave the car park, without the thief presenting a ticket, or paying the penalty fee.

The lawsuit cited the procedure for leaving the airport’s car park with a car, when one loses the machine-generated ticket. And when police officers arrived at the car park to investigate, he enquired from the guard at the booth if the cameras were working, but was questioned why he was politicising the issue of the theft.

The AATT challenged the lawsuit but in a consent order entered into with Sookhan’s attorney in the San Fernando High Court before Justice Mira Dean Armorer, the authority agreed to pay.

The judge ordered that the AATT pay Sookhan $41,000 for loss of the vehicle, $4,000 for loss of use and $10,000 in legal cost. Attorney Robin Ottway represented the AATT.